Research at MIT

The soul of MIT is research. For more than 150 years, the Institute has married
teaching with engineering and scientific studies—and produced an unending
stream of advancements, many of them world-changing.
Examples of some of MIT’s historical achievements follow:

Building a new radar technology system that can see through walls up to 60 feet away

Demonstrating experimentally the existence of a fundamentally new magnetic state called a quantum spin liquid

Developing a new steelmaking process that produces no emissions other than pure oxygen

Designing a new paper strip diagnostic test to rapidly diagnose Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers

Undergraduates can plunge directly into this world of exploration through the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program,
which offers students a chance to collaborate on cutting-edge research as junior colleagues
of Institute faculty.

During the academic year, approximately 3,775 researchers (including 550 visiting faculty and
scientists) work with MIT faculty and students on projects funded by government, foundations,
and industry. Approximately 2,565 graduate students are primarily supported as research assistants
and 610 are appointed as teaching assistants; 1,640 are supported on fellowships.